Discover Top Posts Tagged with #vol 174

[9]

On the one hand I’m swooning over the perfect page. Both Syaorans! In a MIRRORED IMAGE of each other! With distinctively different looks and poses! With one standing side on, with one coloured eye facing forward, and the other facing frontward, with both dark eyes visible! And dramatic dust swirls going in visually opposite directions!! That leave visual trails of incomplete circles that would, if transposes over each other, pretty much make either the Yin Yang symbol or a complete circle, especially the dust around their arms.

Actually the decorative strings on their swords are doing the same! Not to mention Syaoran’s sword string actually wraps all the way around himself, intertwining with his pose as if he himself is also part of the weapon - because he IS and that’s ALL he is in this moment!

And we’ve mentioned the significance of the outfits already but also consider how their arms are also different, with Lava Lamp complete with two full sleeves, and Syaoran left with no sleeves at all - which not only matches their souls (one has both halves, one has neither) but also makes a dark/light contrast! That ALSO gets emphasised by the fact that Lava Lamp has both arms forward, both visible, a full soul, a balanced pose for a balanced being, while Syaoran has one arm forward in a pose that breaks the symmetry, because he only ever had the one half of the soul, he never had the chance to complete his own, so he’s left with an unbalanced pose that makes him visually one sided and unbalanced.

And all the while sakura petals are swirling around them.

Like Clamp went OFF.

ITS ALL SO PERFECT AND VISUALLY CRAFTED IM SCREAMING ITS AMAZING AND ALL JUST ONE PAGE

AND ON THE OTHER HAND ITS SAD SAD ETERNAL SADNESS THE EMOTIONS AHHHHH

#ITS ALL HAPPENING AND HORRIBLE #BUT ITS VISUALLY INCREDIBLE #AND SO THOUGHT OUT #AND THEY PUT SO MUCH THOUGHT INTO THIS #BUT I DONT WANT IT TO HAPPEN #BUT I ALSO DOOOOOO #Tsubasa #liveblogging the reservoir chronicle #Vol 174 #Syaoran #Lava Lamp Guy #My Syaoran My Syaoran and Me

[10]

OH AND NOW WE GET THE SHOT OF PETALS LANDING SOFTLY ON THE OUTSTRETCHED BLADE???

CLAMP DID NOT HOLD BACK

THEY GAVE US ALL THE IMAGERY THEY COULD AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL

LIKE HELLO?? MOST ICONIC AND DRAMATIC WAY OF DOING THIS POSSIBLE???

The entire chapter is essentially just An Introduction to the three of them being Here in the most Amazingly Indulgent way possible and it’s all so GREAT

And can we talk about the fact that there are two petals? Safely resting on the sword? While a third hangs in the balance nearby?? Like YES 🔥🔥🔥 which petal is which? Who is who??? Is that Lava Lamp and Sakura together like they were when Syaoran was arriving? Or the Syaorans together in battle with Sakura’s heart in the balance nearby? Or Sakura and Syaoran together and Lava Lamp just off to the side, as Sakura’s heart wants?

Are there any good options? Is it all of them?

Is this the most Clamp thing to ever happen and will I even survive this turn of events??? I guess we’ll find out!

Eventually!

#Clamp went OFF #They were like YEAH THE DRAMA OK #THE DRAMA OF IT ALL #YOU CAN ALL HAVE MAXIMUM DRAMA #AS A TREAT #Liveblogging the reservoir chronicle #Tsubasa #Vol 174 #Lava Lamp GUy #Syaoran #Sakura #AND EVERYTHING

[8]

AND THE BATTLE OF THE SYAORANS BEGINS

Gosh another heartbreaking thing about every single move they make is that we’ve SEEN these moves before. Syaoran uses a similar spell that we saw Fai use in Seresu, and uses Fai’s magic to do it. And then he poses with his sword in a way I’m sure we’ve seen before, which just SCREAMS of the fact this is Syaoran! This is him! But he’s not home and he’s trying to kill you.

Meanwhile Lava Lamp does his finger thing that’s (once again) reminiscent of the way CCS!Syaoran casts magic, but without the slips of paper, because he’s advanced so much beyond than those simple spells.

Now he’s doing THIS. And he’s being defensive! He deflects the attacks that (also again) would have hit Sakura, but doesn’t attack Syaoran in kind. Yet.

Instead he leaps out into battle, drawing the attacks away from Sakura as he LEAVES HER BEHIND IN THE BUBBLE OF AIR

WHICH, I ADMIT, IS A NICE CONCERN FOR HER SAFETY WHEN THERE’S A RABID SYAORAN ON THE LOOSE

BUT HI YES HELLO SAKURA IS TRAPPED IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE ONCE AGAIN. JUST LIKE SHE WAS IN ACID TOKYO, HITTING THE WALLS LIKE THEN TOO, HELPLESS AS (ONCE AGAIN) THE SYAORANS FIGHT RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.

#It’s even worse because this time she’s also in a jam jar #So she’s in a bubble INSIDE a jam jar #Which is containerception #Only the finest of confinements for our Sakura!#Tsubasa #Liveblogging the Reservoir Chronicle #Vol 174 #Sakura #Syaoran #Lava Lamp Guy #ALSO similar to the very first pages of the manga #which ALSO feature Sakura banging on the glass of a container #So she's sadly Experienced in this scenario

[5]

Once again Lava Lamp proves that he Knows Things and is doing this With Purpose. Watanuki is being pulled away (or pushed away?) and Lava Lamp takes the moment to give him a fore warning of what might happen and prepare him for things on his side of the plot.

And you can TELL he cares about Watanuki in his unspecified way, even if this is the first conversation with him that Watanuki remembers. And it just so happens to be about HOW MUCH pain Lava Lamp is about to be suffering and the fact that he’s doing it anyway because he has to.

Rough (non-specified) reunion that’s for sure.

#Oh no are things about to pop off in xxxholic too #I guess they have to sooner or later #I just would really not go through the things that I think will happen #Tsubasa #Vol 174 #Liveblogging the reservoir chronicle #Lava Lamp Guy #Watanuki #Syaoran #Sakura #I mean I guess we are at like… 75% of xxxholic #So it kind of HAS to happen soon #But I don’t want it!

[7]

I LIVE for the heartbreak and drama of this moment. Sakura finally sees Syaoran show up - and it’s HER Syaoran! The one she wants! So she calls out to him.

And he doesn’t even register it. Instead he only recognises that there’s a feather present and he has to take it. And he stares back with Fai’s stolen eye and uses Fai’s magic to call his sword as he prepares to take it with force even though no-one has denied it to him yet.

And I LOVE that Sakura tries to reason with him here - because they don’t even MATTER. Which is such a wild sentiment on its own and I’d love to hear more about this but I instantly find myself agreeing with her anyway.

But Syaoran interrupts her, repeating the directive that drives his entire existence - that he WILL return them to her no matter what. Because how can he say anything else? It’s the core of his being. It’s the only thing he has driving his body. It’s the only thing he’s allowed to do at all. He’s not in an existence where he could reasonably listen to a counter argument because he’s practically just executing lines of code at this point.

In which the “no matter what” clause immediately gets very narratively interesting because She could have been hit by that fire attack, she’s RIGHT up next to Lava Lamp. But it’s entirely possible that her safety falls under the “no matter what” of things he can and will stomp over to achieve the goal hard-wired into him, WHICH WAS A FASCINATING OVERSIGHT EVIL WOLVERINE.

#He’s so proud of literally everything he does #I can’t believe he didn’t add in a #“Don’t kill sakura” instruction #You’d think that might occur to him #BUT I GUESS NOT #Tsubasa #Liveblogging the reservoir chronicle #Vol 174 #Sakura #Syaoran #Lava Lamp Guy #The DRAMA #The DANGER

[2]

HAND-CHAN NO

But ok! So the hand was safely Lava Lamps! He made it!

But also can I just repeat my anxious confusion over the fact that he’s HERE and that means the plot line is really kicking off. There are still so many chapters left! I thought this was going to be the final climax of the plot! Was I completely wrong?

Also I’m THRILLED to see Watanuki here. He’s here to help right when we need him! But I’m sure he’s also correct in that Lava Lamp being here isn’t the wisest of moves. Especially, perhaps? Because he’s here physically? Neither Watanuki or Sakura are here with their physical bodies, so perhaps that’s a super dangerous thing to do.

[Edit: Oops I misread this, apparently this is Sakura speaking to Watanuki. That’s fine too!]

He’s certainly seeming to struggle with crossing the boundary, that’s for sure.

He made it though!

Do you think this is awkward for them? Considering how they left each other in Infinity?

Also this has the composition of a renaissance painting are you kidding me

#I know ‘Left each other’ is a generous way to word it #but still #let me have this #liveblogging the reservoir chronicle #Tsubasa #Vol 174 #Lava Lamp Guy #Watanuki #Sakura #Lava Lamp finally arrives to meet his (unspecified) and his (unspecified) at the same time

[4]

aaaahhhhhHHHHHHHHH

Excuse just Screaming Screaming Screaming

Oh and the EMOTION on each of them is so beautiful. Sakura worried and guarded, and YET

And YET this is what she wanted. It’s him! She found him! This is the moment she organised to be present for.

Syaoran walking forward with his eyes entirely covered, invisible to us, as if walking by clockwork, no emotion head empty.

Lava Lamp has his READY Face on, but it’s not hatred or anger on his face, more a determination, or a defensiveness. He knew this was coming and his timing was SO good. He got here precisely on time and he’s ready for it.

And Watanuki both shocked and potentially being pushed away by some invisible wind, as if the dream itself is pulling him away from this moment. Which is probably a good thing because Watanuki is Not Prepared for the level of violence that happens in this manga. And from Sakura’s reaction earlier she really can’t have him here, because she knows how this confrontation goes and she needs it to go a certain way.

Or alternatively she’s ALSO seen what happens if Watanuki is here for this and it’s NOT GOOD